ABSTRACT We assessed the impacts of the biological invasion of Azadirachta indica on the quality of plant species native to a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest. We planted Amburana cearensis, Libidibia ferrea, Mimosa caesalpiniifolia, and Cenostigma pyramidale individuals alone and interacting with the exotic species. We measured their diameters at ground level and heights for four months, calculating their monthly and general average. After this period, seedlings were destroyed to obtain their number of leaves, leaf area, specific leaf area, length and primary root area, wood density, wood dry matter, leaf dry matter, shoot dry matter, primary root dry matter, secondary root dry matter, root system dry matter, and total dry matter. The presence of the exotic species affected the functional characteristics of native species in different ways. We observed negative effects in M. caesalpiniifolia and A. cearensis, positive effects in C. pyramidale, and mixed effects in L. ferrea. In addition, we identified conflicting demands between pairs of characteristics of the interacting species A. cearensis and M. caesalpiniifolia. Based on the results, it is possible to conclude that A. indica decreases the quality of individuals of most native species studied, which may have consequences for their establishment and the local biodiversity.

Resumo Testamos a hipótese que das espécies estudadas do Semiárido brasileiro, as funcionalmente mais semelhantes com a arbórea exótica Azadirachta indicaseriam mais afetadas na germinação e no desenvolvimento inicial. Inicialmente foi produzido extrato bruto das folhas frescas da exótica em seis diluições. Para cada diluição foram colocadas para germinar 25 sementes, de quatro espécies nativas ( Cenostigma pyramidale, Libidibia ferrea, Mimosa caesalpiniifoliae Amburana cearensis), em placas de Petri com quatro repetições para cada espécie, onde foram avaliados: comprimento da radícula, porcentagem de emergência, índice de velocidade de emergência e tempo médio de emergência. Para avaliar a influência da exótica sobre o desenvolvimento dos indivíduos das espécies estudadas foi realizado um experimento em casa de vegetação. As sementes foram plantadas em 10 baldes de 20 l., sendo cinco baldes para cada espécie nativa isolada e cinco para ela em interação com a espécie exótica. O experimento durou quatro meses, e os atributos funcionais dos indivíduos foram coletados. Das nativas analisadas, de acordo com a análise de agrupamento usando os atributos funcionais das espécies plantadas isoladamente, M. caesalpiniifolia, C. pyramidalee L. ferreaforam funcionalmente mais próximas da exótica. No experimento de germinação notou-se que o extrato afetou apenas o comprimento da raiz, independente da proximidade funcional. Notamos que apenas M. caesalpiniifolia, plantada em interação, teve seu desenvolvimento inicial fortemente inibido. A semelhança funcional entre a exótica e as nativas não influenciou na germinação, mas afetou negativamente o desenvolvimento.

Abstract We tested the hypothesis that of the species studied in the Brazilian Semiarid, the ones most functionally similar to tree Azadirachta indicawould be more affected by this exotic species during germination and early development. At first, we produced a crude extract of A. indica fresh leaves in six different dilutions. We placed 25 seeds of four native species ( Cenostigma pyramidale, Libidibia ferrea, Mimosa caesalpiniifolia, and Amburana cearensis) to germinate in Petri dishes for each dilution, with four replicates for each species. We assessed: radicle length, emergence percentage, emergence speed index, and mean emergence time. We conducted an experiment in a greenhouse to assess how the exotic plant affected the development of individual plants of the studied species. We planted five seeds of each native species alone and five in interaction with the exotic species using ten 20-l buckets. The experiment lasted four months, and the functional attributes of the individuals were collected. Among the native species analyzed, according to the cluster analysis using the functional attributes of the species planted alone, M. caesalpiniifolia, C. pyramidaleand L. ferreawere functionally more similar to the exotic species. In the germination experiment, the extract affected only root length, regardless of the functional similarity. We noticed that only M. caesalpiniifoliahad its early development strongly inhibited when planted in interaction with the exotic species. Although the functional similarity between the exotic and the native species did not influence germination, it negatively affected the development.

ABSTRACTIn seasonally dry tropical forests, species carrying attributes of Stress Resistance Syndrome (SRS) may have ecological advantages over species demanding high quantities of resources. In such forests, Poincianella bracteosa is abundant, while Libidibia ferrea has low abundance; therefore, we hypothesized that P. bracteosa has characteristics of low-resource species, while L. ferrea has characteristics of high-resource species. To test this hypothesis, we assessed morphological and physiological traits of seedlings of these species under different water regimes (100%, 70%, 40%, and 10% field capacity) over 85 days. For most of the studied variables we observed significant decreases with increasing water stress, and these reductions were greater in L. ferrea. As expected, L. ferreamaximized their growth with increased water supply, while P. bracteosa maintained slower growth and had minor adjustments in biomass allocation, characteristics representative of low-resource species that are less sensitive to stress. We observed that specific leaf area, biomass allocation to roots, and root/shoot ratio were higher in L. ferrea, while biomass allocation to leaves and photosynthesis were higher in P. bracteosa. Results suggest that the attributes of SRS can facilitate high abundance of P. bracteosa in dry forest.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo verificar como as características morfofisiológicas diferem entre duas espécies da Caatinga com diferentes necessidades de luz para o crescimento inicial, apresentando a hipótese de que P. stipulacea caracteriza-se como espécie heliófila e A. colubrina como umbrófila, nas primeiras fases de vida. Conduziu-se um experimento em blocos ao acaso, no qual plântulas de ambas as espécies foram submetidas aos tratamentos de pleno sol, 50%, 70% e 90% de sombra durante seis meses. Foram avaliados aspectos morfológicos (altura, diâmetro, número de folhas e alocação de biomassa) e fisiológicos (teores de clorofila a, b e total, e razão clorofila a/b). Os resultados mostraram que as espécies apresentam diferentes exigências de luz durante o crescimento inicial. Plântulas de P. stipulacea apresentaram maior taxa de crescimento relativo e maior diâmetro a pleno sol, menor razão raiz/parte aérea e menor conteúdo de clorofila total quando comparadas às plântulas de A. colubrina. Os melhores resultados de P. stipulacea a pleno sol e A. colubrina em níveis intermediários de sombra corroboraram com a hipótese deste trabalho e são consistentes com a área de ocorrência de cada espécie.

This study aimed to verify how morpho-physiological characteristics differ between species of the Caatinga with different light requirements for initial growth, and had the hypothesis that P. stipulacea is light-demanding and A. colubrina is shade-tolerant in the early stages of life. We conducted a randomized block experiment in which seedlings of both species were subjected to treatments of full sun, 50%, 70% and 90% shade for six months. We evaluated morphological (height, diameter, number of leaves and biomass allocation) and physiological (a, b and total chlorophyll content, and ratio of chlorophyll a/b) features. The results showed that these species have different light requirements during early growth. Seedlings of P. stipulacea showed a higher relative growth rate and larger diameter when growing in full sun, and a lower root/shoot ratio and lower total chlorophyll content when compared to seedlings of A. colubrina. The best results were for P. stipulacea in full sun and A. colubrina at intermediate levels of shade, which corroborate the hypothesis of this work and are consistent with where each species grows.